Today the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has started hearing proceedings regarding the dispute between Moscow local authorities and the Russian Federal government over the ownership of historical and cultural landmarks of federal significance. The law firm EPAM, through its senior lawyer D.Petrov, is representing the interests of the Russian government in this litigation. Following a petition filed by the Moscow authorities, the proceedings were suspended while both sides held negotiations to settle the dispute.

More than fifteen hundred landmarks have been the subject of a long-standing dispute between Moscow and the Federal authorities. They include the famous shopping malls GUM and TSUM, the manors Kolomenskoe and Zaritsino and other highly profitable monuments, whose value is sufficient to not only cover the costs of their restoration, but also to be highly profitable.

According to a decree issued by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation in 1991, historical and cultural landmarks are federal property. Nevertheless, several Russian regions, including Moscow, have been trying to contest the ownership of such landmarks. After being defeated in the arbitration courts, Moscow decided to address the Russian Constitutional Court challenging the constitutionality of certain of these regulations.